The Trouble With Preferences
by Scilja
Summary: Edward has a terrible secret.  And, thanks to Winry, it's not getting any better.


DISCLAIMER: Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to Hiromu Arakawa. This fanfic is non-profit.

The Trouble with Preferences

By Scilja

Edward Elric liked many things.

He liked the tingling sensation that coursed through his nerves each time his hands slapped on the ground to call on alchemy. He liked the sound that came with each rustling page turn of a book, knowing history and worldly knowledge lay in between his hands. He liked the feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment that followed every time he learned something new or became victorious in a duel, be it either physically or mentally (especially when it came to a certain arrogant, dark-haired man).

There were no problems in expressing his liking towards particular objects or situations. The ability to perform alchemy had made him idler since it offered a great number of shortcuts in manual labor, which to him involved cleaning, laundry, and repairing. To satiate his crave for knowledge, he fully acquainted himself with most of the libraries in Amestries. So much so in fact, that he knew by second nature which town to visit to answer whatever questions he may have in mind.

His weekly visit to Central became an anticipated event where his interactions with Fuhrer Mustang became recognized to take place in a large auditorium just to ensure there were enough seats to fit their growing audience. Indeed, he had become well known for being the alchemy geek who could take it out with the Fuhrer. But the problem lay far from his likings.

Edward Elric had a secret.

One lazy afternoon during his youth, both he and Al tottered over to the Rockbell house as was their daily routine to coax their neighbor into joining them in their play. An enticing aroma flooded their senses once they stepped into the old-fashioned living room. Curious, they followed the scent to the kitchen to find Winry covered in white powder, arms elbow deep in a large plastic bowl.

Ed quirked a brow. "What happened to you, Win?"

Pigtails askew and the left shoulder strap of her blue checkered dress sloping down her arm, her brow furrowed in deep concentration smoothed over upon seeing her childhood playmates. With a toothy smile, she proudly fanned chocolate covered fingers before him. "Fudge brownies."

She moved fast, rounding the table and catching him unaware as he felt something cold land on him. At her giggles, he crossed his eyes to find chocolate batter on the tip of his nose.

"Hey!"

"Gotcha!" She laughed harder at his irritated expression. "You're too slow, Ed."

Then she leaned over and licked the chocolate off.

His body reacted by coming to a standstill, eyes widened in surprise and bewilderment. Winry merely grinned and said, "Told 'ya you were slow."

Since that day, each time Ed found himself back in Winry's house during his travels, he would secretly hope she would be making fudge brownies or at least something that involved a lot of icing and batter. Of course, extensive automail repair followed his visits, and with their constant race against time, fitting in fudge brownies into the schedule came to be a difficult maneuver.

But he had underestimated her element of surprise once again.

They had arrived from Central one cold night to spend the holidays with the Rockbells. Exhausted from the train ride, he immediately plopped down unto the nearest couch and took a long nap. The consequence of having not eaten in five hours woke him in the late evening to a rich smell drifting in the air. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he stretched his sleep-numb muscles and went to investigate.

Winry had her back turned to him, clothed in starry blue pajamas, humming an odd melody while stirring a porcelain bowl. Oblivious to the fact she was being watched, she reached for a strawberry from the fruit platter next to her and dipped it into the bowl. The strawberry came up coated in a dark liquid he assumed to be chocolate. She bit into the fruit, prompting a delightful moan that sent a delicious shiver down his spine. It was like watching a forbidden act of pleasure take place.

"Can I try some?"

The corners of his lips lifted when she started, the strawberry nearly fumbling in her hand. He never got tired of teasing her. She rolled her eyes as he approached, turning to him. "You want to try the fondue?"

He peered over her shoulder, eyeing the bowl contents. "Is that what it's called? Why not just melted chocolate?"

She gave a lopsided shrug and passed him a toothpick-pierced strawberry. "Sounds more exotic that way, I guess." She stepped to the side and gestured towards the bowl. "Go nuts."

The instant the strawberry and chocolate combination touched his tongue, he nearly let out a groan of pure delight but quickly decided against it and opted to quietly savor the intense flavor.

Her smile almost appeared cunning. "Good, huh?"

He nodded, pleased that the chocolate lingered heavily on his tongue. "Quite."

A small sigh escaped her lips, her eyes twinkling in silent amusement as she shook her head. "Same as ever."

Before he could ask what she meant, she neared her mouth to his and flicked her tongue along his lips. The moment was gone before he could grasp it, leaving him to do nothing but gape at her retreating form.

"You had some on your lip."

That incident triggered the beginnings of a terrible chocolate addiction.

No-one knew of it – although Al might have a suspicion from seeing empty wrappers in the trash during their overnight stays in a hotel or residence. If anyone had found out about it, his image would plunge to the throes of Mustang's neverending mockery, so he kept it discretely under lock and key. The secret had been kept well hidden by the use of his red cloak where several pockets lined the inside, each filled with various goodies. Bite-sized goodies, of course, as to prevent bulges in the fabric and to minimize any scrutiny.

Then the addiction worsened.

Six months since Ed had successfully restored his and Al's body back to its original form, and almost four months since he and Winry had come to terms with their relationship. He moved into the automail shop she successfully ran in Rushvalley, which also happened to act as a convenient location for him to continue his work with Central without having to take the train.

Between sparse periods from his research and paperwork, he occasionally found himself watching Winry flutter around her workshop, tinkering or clanging away. He knew that they both shared the same passion for their work, so much so that they drifted off into their own worlds in an impenetrable barrier, strong and fiercely zealous. In fact, that was how he had discovered a small quirk of hers.

She tended to stick things into her mouth.

When her hands were preoccupied, the next available grasping position rested on her teeth. Screws, nuts, bolts, and picks placed themselves on a temporary shelf in her grit teeth. While it would have been a practical oddity due to the numerous parts she had to deal with, more discerning to him was the possibility of lead poisoning. So he tossed her an opened container of chocolate-dipped breadstick.

"What is this?" she asked, peering at it into the light dubiously.

"It's good," he assured. "Tastes better than metal."

She gave him an incredulous glance before drawing out one finger thick stick, dipped it into the chocolate, and gave a tentative lick.

He grinned when her eyes lidded, a soft hum from her pleasured throat. She always did have a sweet tooth. The breadstick dunked again into the icing, a hefty scoop plunged into her mouth and she was gone.

He watched, mesmerized, as her pink tongue swirled on the snack, then it delved into her mouth as she sucked half the length and the now bare breadstick left her mouth, slick and innocently sensual. Everything suddenly seemed too hot, too much, too hard.

Casually, she tilt her head, smiling and eyes glinting because she knew him much too well. "You're right. It's yummy."

Growling, he filled her mouth with his, proving to her he can outdo any snack any time. Needless to say, she now had a shelf fully stacked of Bebo's Chocolate Dip Breadsticks.

Days later on one unforgettable morning, he ambled into the kitchen, rubbing sleep from his eyes and grunted acknowledgement at his roommate's presence.

"Good morning sleepy head." She smiled in return to his groggy greeting. "Would you like milk for breakfast?"

"Do you have to torture me so early in the morning?" His scowl would have been more effective if he wasn't still dazed with sleep.

"If I didn't then you know something's not right." Winry placed the glass on the wooden table and nudged it towards him.

Ed propped his chin against his palm, peeking at her from the corner of his eyes, "You're wasting your time, you know."

"It goes with what I'm making," she sing-songed, tapped the side of the glass playfully and sauntered back to the kitchen counter.

He watched a water droplet slide down the cool drink then shifted his gaze to the shuffling noises from Winry's direction. "What are you doing?"

A soft pop resounded when she pulled out a finger from her mouth. "Making fudge."

"What kind?"

"Chocolate."

He instantly came alert. The chair scrapped across the floor as he rose from his seat and moved to stand next to her.

"I suppose you want to try it?" she said without removing her gaze from the freshly mixed batch.

"I suppose I do."

"You have to wait a while for it to settle."

"Have you tried it yet?"

"I have," she looked up at him, "why do you a–"

His mouth descended on hers and he felt smug satisfaction at her surprised squeak. The small nips and licks he showered on her lips eased the tension from her shoulders, leading her arms to link around his neck and his around her waist. At the suggestive flick of his tongue, her lips unconsciously parted open and he explored her without hesitation.

They soon parted for air, clinging to each other from the spontaneous burst of passion encompassing them. He took that time to drink in her flushed appearance, eyes dreamlike, lips swollen and pink, and cheeks streaked with a rosy tint which bloomed when he grinned and said, "Tastes good."

He should have realized back then that whenever chocolate came into the picture, he was bound to have a heart attack.

Being wed entitled him a fair share of off days from Central, a privilege he took full advantage of if his and Winry's intimacy being at least twice a day was any indication. The house was comfortably quiet, save for the rhythmic crackling from the fireplace and the distant ticks of an antique clock. They lounged on the couch that autumn evening, she dressed in one of his old button down shirts and pajama bottoms, and he in a white sweater and wash-worn jeans. Conversation embodied a light tone, centering from the brunt of daily life to what size marshmallow went best with hot beverages.

In odd timing, Winry decided to crave for vanilla ice cream, so she extracted her entangled limbs from his to fetch some in the fridge. He watched her, eyes alight with simple joy, carrying a bowl with what appeared to be least three ice cream scoops in one hand and two spoons grasped in the other. She set down the items on the table surface then abruptly snapped upright saying, "I can't believe I forgot it!" and dashed back to the kitchen.

He was just about to eat a spoonful's worth when Winry returned and quickly said, "Ed! You can't eat ice cream without putting this on it first!"

He bit into it anyway and swallowed. "Nothing wrong with it plain."

"True, but it's just not the same without it."

He finally took a good look at the object she held and raised a brow. "Chocolate syrup?"

Snapping the plastic cap off and pulling on the spout, her voice laden with sarcasm, quipped, "Good to know your vision hasn't failed you yet." The bottle turned upside down, hovering above the ice cream. Winry wrinkled her nose and firmly shook the bottle. She gave the base a hard pat and another shake then huffed when not a single drop came out.

"Here, let me."

She looked at him incredulously for a second before handing it over. One fine brow raised when his hands moved in a stance that indicated an oncoming alchemy act. By the time the bright light faded, Ed was holding the bottle out to her. "Try it again."

Not wanting to have a repeat performance, she turned the bottle over, hands in position to give a good squeeze and thrust it downwards. Unfortunately, she had forgotten that the spout had not been pulled back, resulting in a spray of chocolate syrup splattering all over her bottom half and unto an unsuspecting Ed.

A yelp and a jerk came as reactions. Ed grunted to see a chocolate web painted on his sweater. Winry had chocolate streaks wrung around her torso and lines patterning her pants.

"Well, at least now I can say I've been bathed in chocolate."

He snorted at her dry humor. "I didn't know that was one of your lifetime goals."

Scoffing, she scrunched her nose and picked at the front of her blouse. "Comes second to diving into a pool of rainbow jelly."

Knowing the sweater deemed a hopeless cause, he stripped it off his body and carefully folded it as to prevent the syrup from staining the furniture. His gaze flickered to the side and he nearly choked on his own breath at the sight he came across.

Winry had removed her blouse to reveal a very thin, not to mention form fitting, tank top that did nothing to hide the voluptuous form she developed over the years. The light from the fire played with the shadows on her body, accenting the curves of her breasts to the arch of her lower back. The pajama pants had been rolled up to join his discarded sweater, leaving only white bikini shorts. Her legs lay akimbo to side, long and slim which he knew very well to be silky to touch. Faced away from him on the table top, she was now gathering her hair into a loose bun, giving him an enticing view of her backside.

He didn't know backs could be so damn sexy.

Her voice snapped him out of his silent exploration. "Ugh, I feel so sticky," she emphasized by moving her arms in a slapdash fashion, "I need a shower."

She began to rise off the table only to be tugged backwards and fall unto his lap.

An arm wove around her to press her back against him, warm and wonderfully soft. "Ed," she laughed on a breath when he nuzzled her nape. "Ed, I mean it."

It took a great amount of his control not to react to her wonderfully squirming bottom against a particular region of anatomy. He nipped at the spot behind her ear, grinned when she gasped breathlessly in response and husked, "I know a better way to clean up."

She sighed at the feel of his mouth trailing kisses along the curve of her shoulder. The path veered to her collarbone, her fingers laced through his hair anxiously at the occasional teasing of his tongue against her fevered skin. His breath tickled her jaw, she responded by arching her neck back and tilt her head to engage his lips to lock with hers. Breathless gasps and languidly wet kisses exchanged fervently. In a blur, she found herself pinned underneath fiery golden eyes clouded with a tumbling passion that both nerved and excited her.

His mouth curved into a mischievous grin. She soon discovered the cause for that when his fingers smudged across her lips. After a tentative outward tongue flick, she blinked, "Chocolate syrup?"

The grin broadened into something more devilish which only intensified the fervor raging inside her. He leaned forward so his lips tickled the rim of her ear, "I always wanted to know how you tasted as a fudge sundae."

Suffice to say, the bottle had been emptied in minutes and the showers were very much delayed until the next morning. He chuckled at the memory of the beige velvet couch, its pristine state lost to chocolate smudges and streaks.

The day after, a great deal of blushing and eye-contact avoidance came on their part when the delivery personnel arrived to replace the old couch with a new black leather one.

This addiction was something he could definitely live with.

END.

* * *

From the Desk of Scilja: 

I love EdxWin, and this began about a year ago when my friend finally thrust me into the FMA world. I've always wanted to do something in commemoration for a wonderful couple as they whose story weaves deep like no other, and now I am incredibly happy I made this fic. I hope this story shows my love for the two. Reviews are Love :)


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